GROUNDED... by the prospect of a better tomorrow

GROUNDED Australia, a two-day festival dedicated to farming better, went off recently with great success. 

The event, a mix between a traditional conference, educational field day and food festival, was held at Fat Pig Farm in the Huon Valley and attracted more than 350 people on each of the days. 

The festival was led by chef, author, and owner of Fat Pig Farm Matthew Evans, with support from the local community and numerous volunteers. 

Inspired by the UK’s Groundswell festival, the festival revolved around regenerative agriculture and featured more than 60 speakers who guided attendees through discussions, hands-on demonstrations and on farm “walk shops.” 

Attendees came from across Australia and ranged from farmers and land managers to Landcare groups and non-farmers passionate about farming done well. 

The event was powered by solar energy, something Mr Evans was particularly proud of. 

“It went unbelievably well,” he said of the day. 

“This whole event was run from a crew of 25 volunteers and many speakers who volunteered their time. It was run on nothing but goodwill and I think that energy helped to feed the mood on-site.” 

“So many things went better than I expected. People laughed, people cried, and had their minds stretched,” he said. 

Mr Evans said it was great to see people arrive with one perspective then leave with a completely new mindset or convinced there was a better way to do things on their farm. 

“Sometimes, people’s views were reinforced, other times they were challenged and sometimes their views completely changed.” One of the standout moments for Mr Evans was a session led by Jason Smith, a local fire-burning expert, which he said many attendees described as incredible. 

“I think what’s beautiful about the event was that you go for the headline speaker, but you end up discovering something new from a speaker you hadn’t heard about.” 

The event featured a diverse range of speakers, including agricultural scientist Will Bignell, a seventh-generation sheep farmer from Bothwell who led discussions on grains, ag-tech and improving farming outcomes with less effort. 

Professor Matthew Harrison from the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture shared his knowledge of carbon cycling, while Terry OAM, founder of CarbonLink, and Georgia Shiels, CEO of Zero Net Emissions, spoke about carbon offsetting and insetting.

Christina Giudici gave a biochar demonstration, challenging common misconceptions and sharing the benefits of using the product, while Shasta Henry led “walk-shops” including an Insect Safari and running a native bee hotel demonstration.

Another highlight was Dr Felice Jacka, a researcher from Victoria, who explored the link between soil, food, the mind, and nutrition.

Mr Evans said Grounded Australia aimed to inspire attendees to return home with new knowledge and a desire for positive change. 

“My hope is that people got back to their properties and thought okay, today I’m going to look at making a change here.”

Mr Evans said he was excited about the future of the festival and already has interest from farmers in Victoria and WA who would be interested on running the event.

"This year was a pilot to see if people were interested and to see how to do it because I’ve never done anything like this before, but now that I’ve learned a lot we would love to do it again.”

Check out the gallery below for images from the event.